Jeffrey E.

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Today, it has been exactly three years since my gastric by-pass, I have gone from 357 lbs to 213 lbs and have been stable for over two years and three months. I am off all systemic drugs, my blood pressure is normal, and my endocrinologist has declared me as non-diabetic for almost three years. Four days after my RNY, my diabetes disappeared due to the change in the anatomy of the bypass. This fact alone was worth doing the RNY surgery, but now with all the weight loss of 164 lbs, I have a completely new and much healthier life. I went from a size 58L suite to a 44L suite and can buy my clothes off the rack.

I urge anyone who is morbidly obese to consider the RNY gastric bypass operation. It is the gold standard of weight loss especially if you have diabetes. My advise is to seek out the best possible surgeon who is well regarded and does at least several hundred gastric bypass operations a year. Make sure that the surgeon is also using the best possible hospital in your area. 

For me the benefits by far out weighted the risk of surgery and going through the nutritionist for six months and then six hour operation was the best thing I have ever done for myself.

If anyone has any questions, I suggest you attend your surgeon's support group and ask questions to people who have undergone the surgery. Attend for several months prior to your surgical date.

Best of luck for a new and much healthier life!

 

My update is that I officially past the 140 lb mark in weight loss last July 2011 and have been stabile since. Four days after my RNY surgery I was taken off Metaformin and Insulin. My diabeties was gone! Then four months after my surgery I was taken off of Lysinopryl, Cardevelol and Simvastin and the weight just flew off of me. The first month alone I lost over 30 pounds and then averaged about 20 pounds a month, then 10 pounds a month last three months until I reached stabilization. Over all it took me about 9 months to lose 140 pounds.

So have been off of blood pressure meds, no cardio meds and no cholesterol meds for over a year now. My average Insulin is under 100 mg/dl, which would have been unheard of for me prior to surgery and have been declared non-diabetic. If I did not lose a pound from the surgery it would be worth the surgery just for losing the diabeties. I am having sex again and it is nice not to have a huge mound of flesh between me and my wife. And I don't  break out into a huge sweat everytime I put on clothes and see people. That used to be a source of great embarrasement. I used to sweat a lot as most obese people do. People used to ask me if it was raining because I would come into a meeting drenched. Not now I am even cold a lot of the time. I gave away nine bags of clothes to charity and bought a completely new wardrobe.

Basically the surgery has completly changed my life for the better. I only wish I was able to do it years ago but that's life. We live and learn and can't look back. I am only going to look forward and live.

If you are new and have been morbidly obese you should serioulsy consider RNY gastric bypass surgery but only with an experienced surgeon. Your surgeon should be doing about  300 to 500 operations per year and have very good references. Yes there are risks of surgery. You could die. But as long as you are comfortable that you have picked a very experienced surgeon, with good references, the benefits far out weigh the risk. Do it! It will change your life.

I had my RNY on Oct. 4th with Dr. Dakin at Weill Cornell Medical Center New York Hospital. Before my surgery I had a very bad night eating problem. After the surgery I have lost 40 lbs in about 5 weeks but STILL have a night eating problem. However I now eat what is accepbable during my night eating but I know that having the equivelent of an extra meal or two during the night cannot be a good thing and will eventually slow down my weight loss.

Also because of my difficulty in sleeping I do take Ambien CR which some have told me can induce the night eating. But without the Ambien I would never get to sleep.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stay in bed and not sucumb to this "pull" of night eating.

1.    Where does the disconnected portion of the RNY stomach sit? Is it still connected to something or does it float in the abdomen? I wonder if it atrophies over time. I know that it shrinks from not having food going through it. I don't want it to be like the intestinal blind loop that just sits and collects bacteria. Advice on this anyone?